McNeese program began as 1959 experiment

<p>A 2015 group photo from the Governor’s Program for Gifted Children</p>Courtesy of gpgc.org/

<p class="p1"><strong>Who started the Governor’s Program for Gifted Children at McNeese State University? Was it Edwin Edwards?</strong>

<p class="p2">No.

<p class="p2">The program, which predates Edwards’ tenure as governor by several years, was started in 1959 as an experimental enrichment initiative by psychologist and McNeese professor George Middleton.

<p class="p2">The first year involved 15 middle school students — 11 boys and four girls — whose studies “included French conversation, areas of science, and the development of the English language, with a study of classical mythology,” according to a submitted story that appeared in the <em>American Press</em> on Aug. 16, 1959.

<p class="p2">The students’ days, the story says, also featured afternoon discussion periods that covered “such topics as how to improve study methods, ethics, truth, and other philosophical concepts.”

<p class="p2">“To be eligible for the experiment the children had to have an intellectual aptitude in the top one percent of the population. …,” reads the story.

<p class="p2">“Before classes began all enrollees were subjected to a two-day series of tests to establish their level of achievement at the start of the experiment.”

<p class="p2">The enrichment program’s first participants: Linda Bertrand, Mary Bracken, Tommy Clarke, Sharon Collins, Joe Dalovisio, Ronald Gaudet, Robert Jewett, David Landers, Jim Melton Jr., Marcia Morgan and Jimmy Moses, all of Lake Charles; Randall Broussard and Denton Martine, both of Sulphur; Johnny Buller of Jennings; and Tommy Verrett of Welsh.

<p class="p2">The program, which over the next few years began taking students from outside Southwest Louisiana, adopted its current name in the mid-1960s after receiving $10,000 in state funding — secured with the help of a local lawmaker Jesse Knowles.

<p class="p2">“Gov. John McKeithen will sponsor the McNeese State College Summer Enrichment Program as the first major step in the establishment of a Governor’s Program for Gifted Children in the state of Louisiana,” reads a story published in the <em>American Press</em> on March 23, 1965.

<p class="p2">McKeithen’s support, the story says, would provide financial security; allow administrators to develop “a coordinated program to meet the special educational needs of all able and talented children in the state”; and ensure that the program would “continue beyond the tenure of the present governor.”

<p class="p4"><strong>Online:</strong> http://gpgc.org.

<p class="p4"> 

<hr /><p class="p5"> 

<p class="p5"><strong>Dixon: More needed to answer question</strong>

<p class="p1"><strong>What ordinance or statute allows the Lake Charles city police to commandeer a private business parking lot for the purpose of issuing a traffic citation and impeding the ingress and egress of its customers.</strong>

<p class="p1"><strong>Also, are they justified in threatening the owner of the business if the owner asks the officer to move his vehicle?</strong>

<p class="p2">“I would need a specific incident date and place and unit number to review the in-car camera video to answer that question,” Police Chief Don Dixon said in a statement forwarded to The Informer.

<p class="p2">For more information, call police at 491-1311.

{{tncms-inline content="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;s1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;The I&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;s2&amp;quot;&amp;gt;nformer answers questions from readers each Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. It is re&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;searched and written by &amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Andrew Perzo&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;, an &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;American Press&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; staff writer. To ask a question, call 494-4098 and leave voice mail, or ema&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;s2&amp;quot;&amp;gt;il informer@americanpress.com.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;" id="c9868444-8fdf-4dd5-8d3a-317e0922edeb" style-type="info" title="THE INFORMER" type="relcontent"}}

<p class="p7"> 

<span class="s1">The I</span><span class="s2">nformer answers questions from readers each Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. It is re</span>searched and written by <strong>Andrew Perzo</strong>, an <em>American Press</em> staff writer. To ask a question, call 494-4098 and leave voice mail, or ema<span class="s2">il informer@americanpress.com.</span>

SportsPlus

Jim Beam

Jim Beam column:Gerstner Field remembered

Local News

Trump wins Georgia, moving closer to reclaiming White House

Local News

Beauregard, Vernon voters favor Trump

Local News

GOP reclaims Senate majority

Local News

Republican Higgins wins re-election bid for US House

Local News

Bowers elected newest member of Calcasieu Police Jury

Local News

Early election takeaways: Trump weakens Democrats’ coalition

Local News

Vidrine elected to serve as Oakdale’s next mayor

Local News

Trump wins North Carolina while votes are still being counted in other key states

Local News

Voters statewide approve constitutional amendment

Local News

Judge Davis elected newest member of Court of Appeal

Local News

Jeff Davis elects two new mayors, re-elects police chief

Local News

Cameron voters approve four bond issues

Local News

Early election takeaways: Next president will lead fractured nation

Local News

Speaker Johnson re-elected to a fifth term in the House

Local News

Trump, Harris win reliable states while voters await battleground results

Business

Westlake Chemical plant fined $825,000

Local News

Rafael strengthens to Category 1 hurricane as it barrels toward Cuba

Local News

AP race call: Trump wins Texas

Local News

AP race call: Trump wins Louisiana

Crime

11/5: Calcasieu Parish Sheriff announces arrest list

Local News

Tropical Storm Rafael expected to become a hurricane — possibly overnight

Local News

‘Cream of the crop’ responds to call for state’s largest marching festival

Local News

PHOTO GALLERY: State Marching Championship